Some Thangs never change
by thesameguest
Summary: She may have grown up a lot, but some things will never change for Miss Thing.


**Lots of thanks to my gorgeous friend _obsessedatopia_ , for being the fanfic/editing rockstar who helped me with this little story!^^**

Mariana was sitting on the porch swing, enjoying the summer breeze in the middle of a sleepless night. Her insomnia was made less annoying by the thought of not having to go to school the next day. She was reflecting on the connection between "school" and the chances of casually meeting an estranged Mat in the corridors when a sudden weight plopping on the seat next to her made her wince, then sigh a few seconds later.

"Mom. You definitely have control issues. You could get some help about that, you know. It's like 3 am." she said, acknowledging Stef's entrance and tiredly mocking some annoyance.

"You definitely could use some sleep. I have no clue what you're implying with this control issue babble, _and_ it's 3.45. What's up?" was the blonde's deadpan answer while she scooted closer to the teenager. Mariana slightly rolled her eyes, getting some comfort from the familiar pattern of teasing her mom. "It's about Mat. But I don't have any intention of talking about it", she quickly added, raising her hands to stop any processing attempt from Stef.

"Ohh-kay, you know I'm not a nosy kind of person. You are offending me" was her reply, while Mariana turned her gaze to just glare at her.

"Maybe you could just use some cuddles to get asleep. You know it used to work on you" Stef playfully continued, with a smirk to her daughter. Mariana couldn' help smiling, although she balanced it with a mock scolding tone. "Stop bringing that up so smugly. It was a long time ago, and…it's something you just shouldn't go shouting about after your child has turned like…six. Thankfully Mama didn't hang that photo. It's embarrassing".

"It wasn't a long time ago, and you were already older than six" Stef quickly replied, poking out her tongue and gazing fondly at the girl.

" _You do have a special touch with her, you know" Lena stated, playfully lifting her eyebrows, amused by her partner's embarrassed expression of denial. "You definitely have magic powers on me. Why shouldn't you have some on her, too? It's_ so _sweet" she beamed, while Stef was hiding her head under a pillow, groaning a muffled "I don't"._

" _Honey, just face it: you have the power to get her to sleep. In minutes, if not in seconds" Lena grinned, removing the pillow from her lover's head and repeatedly kissing her temple and ear, while Stef's face opened into a sweet little smile. Seeing her partner being an amazing mom, and sometimes an amazingly tender mom to their kids was something which made Lena almost literally melt._

 _In her first couple of months with them, Mariana used to have issues with getting asleep, and when she did she was a light sleeper, troubled by nightmares every now and then. Lena and Stef had put effort into setting a reassuring evening routine for the girl, to help her relax and start sleeping better. At the beginning they used to rotate, taking turns tucking into bed the three kids. However, Lena had noticed pretty soon that, as much as her bedtime stories were appreciated by Mariana, Stef just needed a few minutes to get her to sleep. A few minutes of chit-chat and snuggles, or sometimes simply leaning her head on a random part of the blonde's body on the couch, were enough to make the increasingly lively 7-year-old drift off as peacefully as a satisfied baby._

 _Stef would jokingly dismiss Lena's hints, until the Great Stomach Flu of '05 hit._

 _That one night, Lena had fallen asleep exhausted after spending 24 hours wrangling the two recovering boys, whose levels of energy were rapidly rising again._

 _Mariana had seemed free from the flu bug, until that night, when it became clear that none of the kids was going to escape it. After helping their girl throwing up, getting her cleaned up and soothing her, Stef had tried putting her back to bed, hoping badly to do the same herself. The tiny child, however, had proved herself so persistent in whining and holding tight to her like a baby octopus, that she had resigned herself to hold her until she calmed down, just for a few minutes. When Lena found her in the morning, sunk in her favourite old armchair with the little girl peacefully sleeping over her, still in full octopus style, a picture was taken as photographic evidence of Stef's undeniable mushiness and Mariana's undeniable cuteness._

 _As morbidly tired as Stef was that night, she had managed to stay awake a little longer than her daughter. With a few delicate kisses on the tip of her nose, and nestling deeper into her mother's arms, the little bundle had finally drifted off. It had only been moments since, but the thoughts running through Stef's mind made it feel much longer. Eventually she found them leaving her in a puddle of emotions._

 _She couldn't help being already deeply in love with the tiny human breathing heavily on her breast, and with her equally cute twin, for that matter. In moments like that, everything felt just perfect, and overwhelming at the same time. She could sense with every inch of her body how vulnerable and adorable Mariana was in her lap. Ok, Lena was right as usual – the kid felt especially comfortable with her, so much so that she physically relaxed when held or touched by Stef. Moments like that flooded her with pure joy and sadness at the same time. Something in Mariana gave her the feeling that she hadn't been used to being held by someone strong and caring before, when she was upset or even just for a cuddle. Thinking of the twins' drug addicted, lonely teen mom, incapable of taking care of anyone, including herself, added sadness to the picture. Mariana craved physical affection and protection, more than an average 7-year-old would usually do. She craved it because she hadn't had enough of that warm and soothing sensation before. This plain idea made Stef go nuts, feeling irrationally guilty for not being there for the twins in their early years, feeling responsible for every single thing which could go wrong – or, hopefully, right – in her foster kids' lives. Right now, it was all in her hands and on her shoulders. Technically, it was snoring quietly in her arms, softly killing her back._

"Ok, but I was a little kid back then" Mariana acknowledged her mom's hints. "It's not funny and, by the way, remember that you're not allowed to tell stories about me vomiting and sleeping over you to any people living outside of this house, _ever_ " she added rising her index finger, exhaustion taking over her, while she warily leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"And you _know_ you could still do it" Stef teased, wearing a small, smug smile again.

Mariana closed her eyes. "Just for a sec", she said to herself. She could easily recall the episode Stef was teasing her about, and she could understand why her moms loved to remember moments like that. First of all, she had been a very cute child, she thought grinning in her mind. Then, it was no secret that she still didn't resist being babied a little when she was sick, and she had to admit that she had used Stef, the scary cop, as her pillow a couple (thousand) times.

She was already 7 when Lena and Stef started fostering her and Jesús, so she had plenty of proper, detailed memories. She could recall games nights, trips, her first days at the new school and her first siblings fights. She remembered spending a lot of time glued to Lena's side and slowly starting to talk a lot and asking lots of questions. Lena made her feel heard and understood and could always find the words to explain anything or express what Mari had in mind. At the same time, the smell of Stef's skin just felt like home. Her kind gaze made the little girl feel warm and important, and the woman's soft, secure embrace made her feel precious and wanted, with no need for long speeches.

As time passed by and adoption became real, Mariana had become more and more comfortable with the whole family, expressing her witty and good-hearted nature and relaxing enough to get into some minor trouble. Her tween years had started producing a shift in her relationship with her moms, who were amazed and terrified in equal parts. She was capable of delivering a passionate speech about the death penalty at breakfast and having a complete meltdown at dinner. She was an explosive formulation of intellectual maturity and child-like emotions, which made her more difficult to deal with, compared to her brothers, who were still navigating their late childhood. As in the best team-work tradition, Lena spent a considerable amount of time talking with Mariana and helping her to process her feelings and thoughts, while Stef's firmness and deadpan humour helped to deal with the occasional tantrum. As much as the blonde was the main target of the teen's arguments – due to her stubborn sense of competition which made her want to win in any theoretical discussion – she was still there for her former little octopus when she silently asked for some snuggles. Even if the request came shortly after the sporadic yelling match featuring slammed doors and death glares. Lena and Stef secretly hoped that if their girl was having this little teen crisis at twelve or thirteen, there would be less drama in later years.

Mariana would never admit it in front of any witness, but she could recall dozens of times, even in recent years, in which she had drifted off on Stef. She smiled remembering crawling cautiously in the moms' bedroom because of a nightmare and finding immediate relief in the sleeping, zombie-like-arms; falling asleep out of exhaustion on Stef's shoulder in the waiting room of the ER after twisting her ankle badly at school; passing out on her mom's lap on the couch after a "Dharma&Greg" marathon when she was ill; crashing flat out after crying in Stef's embrace about her first one-way crush.

In the last year and a half lots of things had changed for Mariana, not only the transforming borders of her family. Her self-confidence was getting stronger, in spite of some bumps on the road, and she felt like engaging more and more in active roles in her social environment.

Sometimes she felt like a tiny tree whose roots and branches had magically grown overnight. It could suddenly feel its connection with the ground yet also dance in the breeze, extending its leaves to receive the caress of the sun and the rain.

She was making peace with her roots. Her adoptive family still gave her inner strength and security, but she was also becoming a lot more independent. Most of the time she felt miles away from the shy little girl of eight years before, and also from her 13 or 14-year-old self. Deep inside, she felt ready to fly, to put herself on the line and embrace new challenges, even if that meant making mistakes and hurting sometimes.

Half asleep while lost in her thoughts, Mariana placed herself more comfortably under Stef's armpit, acknowledging the gentle rubbing she was receiving on her arm and shoulder. She let out a little smile, while a familiar wave of affection made her lean even a little closer to the woman. As much as their differences made them butt their heads every now and then, and as much as her mom could be annoying as hell in her worst days, she knew that most of her own positivity and strength had been enhanced by her. The young girl knew she was lucky for being able to enjoy the best from the yin and yang nature of her mothers' characters.

She felt her whole body relax, little by little. No witnesses in sight...no problem.

"It looks like someone needs to go to bed..." Stef's amused voice came from a far away land and Mariana opened one eye. "Come on, Miss Thing...As you love to point out, I'm getting old and you're a big girl now. I'm not going to carry you upstairs" the blonde winked at the very sleepy girl.

"Not fair" the brunette mumbled, closing her eyes again. "You were the one who tricked me into this. I'm not moving".

Stef let out a small laugh to herself as Mariana got back to sleep, her relaxed body leaning heavily against her side, her right arm enclosing the older woman's waist.

She wasn't so eager to let her daughter go yet, although her back was going to ache in a little while.

Her baby girl was growing up and turning into a kind, creative, brave young woman whose evolution didn't stop amazing her and Lena.

The idea of her babies leaving the house was still a little unsettling for her, although she would never admit it aloud. But at the same time, her heart filled with joy at the consciousness of all the unknown adventures, surprises and challenges her kids were going to go through.

Being able to see them grow up into awesome women and men, learning to be themselves and their best selves in life was such a gift.

She could see glimpses of the future in her kids' eyes and that made her inexplicably happy... when she let herself relax enough to enjoy the feeling.

Being relieved from the daily stress and drama once they'd all leave after high school would be another gift for her and Lena, on another level. No more complicated schedules or curfews. Lots of romantic evenings for her and Lena, an uncontested dominion of the tv remote. No need to play bad cop anymore. No unruly teens sleeping on top of her…

"I'm gonna miss you little pests like hell, though" she whispered to herself, placing a couple of kisses on her daughter's temple. Mariana started snoring lightly. "Or not", Stef thought as she surrendered to sleep herself.


End file.
